We have 7 pets currently, and I have had a wide assortment since I left home. Scroll to the bottom to see past pets.
Our current babies:
- A male cat named Spats Born July 3?, 2003
- A female cat named Stormy Born April ?, 2004
- Another female cat named Midnight (in honor of Stormy’s biological sister) Born March 10, 2005
- 1 female and 1 male Betta fish named Betty and Buddy purchased in March 2008 These guys are Jordan’s, and live in her room.
- A female kitten named Sassafras Born March 20?, 2008
- A male kitten named Mishra Born April 20?, 2008
Sassafras and Mishra
On Saturday September 20, 2008 Mike, Jordan and I went to an adoption fair at Petco. I had been watching a tortie cat who had been in a little hutch there for about a month. We had decided that we were going to add her to our already full house of furry friends. While at the adoption, Mike fell for a little male white Ragdoll kitten. We both liked both cats, and asked the lady in charge if there was a discount for 2 cats, and she said “Yes!” We inquired what it was, and she responded “Buy one, get one free!” They had been looking for homes for these kittens for a while, and really wanted to adopt them out. So we came home with 2 new kittens! Mike’s Ragdoll cat had been named “Love” (which was quite appropriate as he really is a love) but Mike renamed him “Mishra” after a “Legendary Creature” in Magic The Gathering. My little tortie was named “Saquita”, but after watching her spaz out, and run like mad all over our bedroom, she needed a name that better suited her personality. I came up with Sassafras. She’s quite the Sassy little kitty, too!
Midnight’s Story
Mike and I went to Petsmart on Sunday (Oct 16, 2005) afternoon to get some carpet cleaner, and wandered by the kitties that were up for adoption, as we usually do. Well, this time we fell in love with a little black kitten whose name was “Coco”. We thought “Coco” was kind of a strange name for an all black kitten, but we still thought she was beautiful. Well, we ended up asking about her, and they let us know there would be an adoption fair later that day, so we went home and talked about it. Our decision? We need another cat. One that is really our cat, not mine from before. So we went back later that day, and while Mike held her, I filled out countless pages of paperwork to make her ours. We picked up a brand new bed, they gave us some toys and treats, and we bought some kitten food, as both Spats and Stormy are on to adult cat food. We found out that her mom was a stray, pregnant with 5 kittens, and Cats In Need (the rescue organization) found her, and took her in. She was able to wean the kittens, and little “Coco” grew up with her 4 siblings. She was adopted out the beginning of October to a family that already had cats, and they brought her back after only a week of trying to get them to get along. Cats need more than a week to get used to each other! Well, anyway, “Coco” had been back at Petsmart in the little cage for a week when we spotted her. We renamed “Coco” “Midnight” in honor of Stormy’s late sister. (Mike’s idea) Midnight stayed in the guest bathroom while we were gone, but we let her out when we were home, so the other cats could get used to her. They all adjusted very well, and Stormy and Midnight can be found snuggling, or playing all the time, and Spats and Midnight like to play fight, though Spats can get too rough with both the girls.
Stormy’s Story
One of my friends found Stormy and her sister in the backyard of her mother’s house in late April 2004. They had been abandoned and were about 2-3 weeks old when she found them. They were found in a storm drain. The all-black kitten I named Midnight after she passed. I had her for a week, but she wouldn’t eat, and when I tried to force feed her, she couldn’t keep it down. She died Friday, April 30, 2004. Stormy however moved from eating from the bottle to licking the weaning formula out of a dish, to eating solid food soaked in water, to eating dry kitten chow to adult chow. She is still the smallest of the adult cats, and is my cuddler. She has a silent meow, and we call her the “stealth cat” because of it, and the fact that she won’t wear a collar, and the others wear bells around their necks.
All About Spats
In September of 2003 I decided I needed to get another fuzzy animal in addition to my lop rabbit. I was debating between a dog and a cat, but after spending time at my brother’s house, I decided on a cat. My brother had 2 cats at the time, and I had a ton of fun playing with them. So off I went to the Downey pound in search of the perfect cat. I came home with what I thought was the “runt” of the litter. Spats was the smallest among his 2 other brothers, and was so cuddly. He is now the largest cat we own, weighing in around 18 pounds, but he’s not fat. In fact he’s slim. He’s just really tall! I thought for sure Spats would be an “only cat”, but then in April of 2004 Stormy and Midnight (#1) came into my life.
Past Pets
My past pets include:
- A Water Dog named Leviathan
- numerous Bettas (Japanese fighting fish)
- a giant gold fish that I don’t think I ever named
- sucker fish
- mini swimming frogs: Juan, Federico, and 1 unnamed
- a fire bellied toad named Todd
- a fire bellied newt that never got named
- 2 cherry barbs- Cheryl and Barbara (Cheryl is now living at a friend’s house in a BIG ole tank, after living about 3 years with me in a gallon and a half tank. And we found out, Cheryl’s a boy. Ooops.)
- a hamster named Mistletoes (who didn’t survive a month)
- a hamster that never got named (who didn’t survive a week)
- a hamster named Cana (who lived a long life of almost 3 years)
- a Meyer’s parrot named Jacey (who I had to return to the pet store due to behavioral problems after 2 1/2 years of trying to fix them)
- a “mini” lop rabbit named Boo who I had for 7 years until she became very ill with cancer and had to be put down when it spread to her lungs.
Boo’s Story
Boo was born in April of 2001, and I found her at a pet store in Santa Clarita in June when I graduated college. Soon I moved to Anaheim, and took her with me. She spent a few days just hopping around the house free before I moved the furniture in. I still had the apartment in Santa Clarita, but was working at Disney, so spent some nights in the Anaheim condo. She was a great rabbit and had a huge cage. She got along well with the cats, too. I would let her out and they would all play together.
In May of 2006 she got a tumor in her mammary glands, and t turned out to be cancer. We had it removed, but it was a very costly surgery. She was doing fine until fall of 2007 when she got another lump. We couldn’t afford to have it removed so I started contacting rescue groups to see if they could help financially, or find someone who could take care of Boo, and give her the care she needed. I contacted a few different vets, but all had the same story. They wanted to help, but they just couldn’t. Too many other rabbits needed saving, so they couldn’t add mine to the list. I watched Boo closely until May when I noticed she hadn’t eaten much if anything one day, then it turned into 2 days. I also noticed on the second day that her eye was seeping. I took her into the vet May 6 after I got home from work and put Jordan to bed, and they said that she had a really bad ear infection that was running into her eye, she was scary skinny from not eating, and judging from the sound in her lungs, the cancer had spread to her lungs. Being that she was 7 years old, there wasn’t much they could do, so they gave me a couple of options. Either take home $200+ worth of medication, give her eye and ear drops twice a day, and force feed her with a syringe 3 times a day (taking about 30-60 min each time), and see if she might improve, or say goodbye. I chose the latter, especially since the vet really thought she wouldn’t recover. So sadly I returned home that evening without my little bunny, and then had to try to explain to Jordan where Boo was when she noticed the cage and the bunny were missing. I doubt Jordan will even remember having a bunny, but I do have pictures and video to remind her.
The Relocation of Jacey
I had to return Jacey, my parrot back to the pet store where he was purchased. I had had enough of his behavioral problems that just weren’t getting any better at all. He had a horrible habit of biting and screaming, which all parrots do, but it was out of hand. I had read books, taken him to the vet, and to another bird store who gave me some tips on how to help him. Nothing worked, so I finally had reached my breaking point. I took him back to the Petco I purchased him from, and they will adopt him out to someone who can better take care of him. He had bitten me so hard I had bled on numerous occations, and when I realized that both of my cats (not to mention me!) were afraid of him, I decided this was the end. It has been much calmer in my house since Jacey has relocated. I hated to do it, but neither of us was happy, so something had to be done. I hope he is happier now where he is as well.